Winning the male lead

Le Tian picked up the necklace and almost burst into tears. “Since I’m here already, why not have a good time before leaving?”

System: ……

Le Tian held the necklace up against his neck and murmured, “Looks pretty good on me.” He hadn’t expected Jiang Yue to come. He stepped outside to check the path leading to the villa but found no footprints. Judging by how buried the box was in the snow, Jiang Yue must have come in the middle of the night.

Abandoning his plan to build a snowman, he threw down the shovel and went upstairs. He opened WeChat and clicked on Jiang Yue’s chat, which he hadn’t touched in months.

The last message from him was: 8:30 PM.

Le Tian hadn’t gone that time, and Jiang Yue never contacted him again afterward.

Thinking it over, he figured he should give Jiang Yue a chance for that “adult experience” and happily sent him a message—Thanks for the birthday gift.

Jiang Yue replied quickly—We had an agreement.

He was probably referring to the night in the music classroom when they had a falling-out. Jiang Yue seemed to take promises and agreements very seriously.

Le Tian was tempted to reply, “The agreed-upon adult experience, you mean?” But that would ruin his persona, so instead, he asked—Are you in the country?

—Yes.

—Can we meet?

—Where?

—Your apartment.

—Okay.

Le Tian put down his phone, clasped his hands together, and murmured, “Buddha, please bless me with a smooth and successful first adult experience.”

System: “…… Buddha won’t bless things like that.”

Le Tian changed into a red duffle coat, saying that brides traditionally wear red. The system, upon hearing this, wanted to smash its voice-processing module.

“Dad, I’m going out to meet a friend,” Le Tian said, hands in his pockets, half of his face buried in a camel-colored scarf, his eyes darting evasively.

His father chuckled, “A boy or a girl?”

Le Tian whispered, “A boy.”

His father laughed again, “A girl would be fine too. Dad’s very open-minded.”

Le Tian’s face flushed red. He thought, If you were really okay with a boy, now that would be open-minded. As he was leaving, he added, “If I stay out late, I won’t come home.”

His father burst into laughter. “Still saying it’s not a girl? Go on! But be careful and behave yourself.”

Le Tian turned and stepped into the snowy night.

The taxi moved slowly through the snow, and his heart pounded with excitement. The thought of his upcoming first adult experience made him giddy. With Jiang Yue’s physique… just imagining it made him drool. His face wore an idiotic, love-struck smile, which made the system shudder in discomfort.

Once he got out of the taxi, he collected himself, restraining his overly enthusiastic expression. Putting his hands in his pockets, he put on an innocent, demure look as he walked toward Jiang Yue’s apartment.

Snow had started falling again. He stopped and looked up at the sky. “Is this Buddha’s blessing for me?”

System: “…… Buddha has better things to do.” And he certainly wouldn’t bless someone eager to lose their virginity the day after coming of age!

Le Tian loved snow. He reached out, catching a snowflake in his palm, watching it disappear instantly. Clapping the snow off his hands, he stuffed them back into his pockets. When he lifted his eyes, he saw a tall, slender figure dressed in black, walking toward him with a sleek, black umbrella.

He was almost blinded by how handsome he looked. “Holy crap, this is too hot. I must sleep with him ten times tonight!”

The system had nothing to say, except that it wanted to shut itself down as soon as possible.

Jiang Yue walked up to him and tilted the umbrella over Le Tian’s head. Le Tian gazed up at him, dazed. It had been a while since he had last seen him. He seemed a bit more mature than before, a little taller, but his expression was still calm and indifferent.

“Let’s go.” he held the umbrella in his left hand and naturally draped his right arm over Le Tian’s shoulders. Le Tian, pulled by the gentle force, instinctively leaned into his embrace and let himself be guided into the apartment.

The apartment was warm, with the heating on. As soon as Le Tian stepped inside, he could feel the heat.

Jiang Yue placed the umbrella in the stand, then took off his black coat, revealing a gray shirt underneath. Despite the cold, he was only wearing two layers. Le Tian removed his red coat, revealing a high-neck red sweater underneath. Blowing on his hands, he awkwardly stood in place.

Jiang Yue hung up both of their coats before saying, “Have a seat.”

The apartment was full of memories—memories of those two wild, indulgent days he and Jiang Yue had spent together. Sitting on the couch made Le Tian’s face flush as he recalled everything they had done here before.

Jiang Yue handed him a cup of hot chocolate.

Le Tian was surprised. He had thought there would only be water here.

“It’s sweet,” Jiang Yue said, sitting down.

Le Tian took a sip. The rich, velvety taste of chocolate filled his mouth. It was indeed very sweet.

“I… I came to return this.” he took the red velvet box out of his pocket and placed it on the coffee table.

Jiang Yue glanced at it and said flatly, “It’s a gift for you.”

Le Tian lowered his head. “I don’t need it.”

Jiang Yue asked, “Then what do you need?”

Le Tian shook his head. “I don’t need anything.”

It had been a long time since Jiang Yue had seen Le Tian. Ever since that night in this apartment, he had barely gone to school, only showing up briefly before leaving. He hadn’t deliberately avoided Le Tian, but their paths simply hadn’t crossed.

Le Tian’s hair had grown out a little, covering part of his eyes, making him look even younger. The cold weather had turned his ears and nose red, making him resemble a lost Christmas reindeer. He looked thinner, too. Even in the red sweater, his waist seemed fragile, almost breakable.

Jiang Yue was silent for a moment. “You came here just to return the necklace?”

Le Tian thought, Of course not—I came for the adult experience.

He bit his lip and nodded slightly.

Jiang Yue had been sitting on a separate armchair, but upon hearing Le Tian’s response, he got up and sat beside him. Le Tian was startled and shifted away. As he moved, Jiang Yue moved closer. Le Tian kept inching toward the corner of the couch until he had nowhere left to go. He put his hands against Jiang Yue’s chest and whispered, “Y-you… don’t be like this.”

Jiang Yue said calmly, “You’re the one who came to me.”

Le Tian looked up, his big eyes shining as he argued, “Well, y-you came to see me last night, too.”

Jiang Yue replied, “But I didn’t meet you.”

Realizing he couldn’t win this argument, Le Tian lowered his gaze and muttered, “I’m leaving.” He stood up, but Jiang Yue caught his hand.

“You’re scared,” Jiang Yue said with certainty.

He quietly watched him, his thin lips mercilessly revealing the truth, “What you’re afraid of isn’t me, it’s yourself.”

Le Tian trembled even more violently.

Jiang Yue continued, “You like it.” He had always been sure of this—whenever they were intimate, Le Tian’s reactions couldn’t be faked.

Le Tian was utterly unable to refute. He didn’t want to speak anymore, just tried to pull his hand away. Jiang Yue applied a little force, and he fell straight into his arms.

Jiang Yue leaned down and kissed him.

Trapped in the corner of the narrow sofa, there was nowhere left to retreat. Le Tian could only passively endure. Suddenly, he felt Jiang Yue reaching for the button of his pants. He struggled to push him away, but it was useless. Jiang Yue’s hand had already touched his most vulnerable spot. His thin lips moved against his, whispering, “You’re reacting.”

Le Tian wanted to cry but had no tears. He hated himself—hated how, in front of this man, he had no defenses at all, no ability to resist. A single touch, and he was completely defeated. Yet his body had already surrendered to the familiar pleasure.

He didn’t know when they moved to the bedroom, nor when his bright red sweater had been thrown to the floor. He only knew that in that instant, the pain made him tremble—tremble so hard it was unbearable.

Jiang Yue was incredibly gentle, more than ever before. He had prepared thoroughly. Le Tian understood now—Jiang Yue had known he would come and had planned all along to devour him. So, he gave up fighting, clung to his neck, closed his eyes, and let himself be taken.

Jiang Yue was unusually excited. He was always intense when they were intimate, but this time, he wanted to mark every inch of Le Tian’s skin. He lay on top of him, biting his ear, his deep voice husky and seductive. “I’ll stay inside.”

Le Tian had no words left to refute, only soft gasps. Jiang Yue clasped their fingers together tightly, and as he promised, took him completely.

In that moment, Le Tian felt as though he had ascended to the border between heaven and hell. He could no longer distinguish between pain and pleasure.

After the difficult first time, the second time went much smoother. Jiang Yue lay on his side, holding him from behind, just like they had done in Le Tian’s dorm room on that small, yellowish bed. But this time, he finally fulfilled his wish—to possess Le Tian from inside out, to make him scream and cry. And in Le Tian’s sobs, he found ultimate satisfaction.

Le Tian kept crying and begging for mercy, but Jiang Yue ignored him. He was determined to make him admit that he was the best. Even when Le Tian, through his tears, promised there would be no one else, he did not stop.

Afterward, satisfied, he lay with Le Tian in his arms. The scent of their bodies lingered in the air. Le Tian, exhausted, lay nestled against him, his body covered in marks. Jiang Yue traced them with his fingers, thinking to himself, “Mine. He’s finally mine.”

When Le Tian woke up, Jiang Yue was no longer in bed.

He pulled on a shirt from his wardrobe and limped outside. He heard Jiang Yue speaking on the phone from the balcony and slowly walked over.

“Really?”

“He’s in my bed right now.”

“Don’t believe me?”

“I always follow through on my words.”

Jiang Yue seemed to hear Le Tian’s footsteps and turned around. Seeing the dazed look on his face, he calmly extended his phone to him. “It’s Jiang Qu. Do you want to talk to him?”

Le Tian suddenly felt cold all over. The not-yet-dried traces of their night together trickled down his ankle. Trembling, he took a step back and stammered, “I… I don’t want to.”

Jiang Yue put the phone back to his ear. “He says no.”

Le Tian stood frozen, hearing the furious yelling from the other end of the call. Jiang Yue frowned slightly. “Suit yourself,” he said before hanging up. Then, he walked over to him. “Still hurting?”

Le Tian blankly shook his head, then nodded. “A little.”

Jiang Yue bent down, slid an arm around his slender shoulders, and lifted him up. “I’ll put medicine on for you.”

Le Tian lay in the bathtub as Jiang Yue cleaned him up and applied ointment. “It’s not too bad, just a bit swollen. The medicine will help.”

Le Tian shuddered and buried his face in his arm. “You were prepared for this all along, weren’t you?”

Jiang Yue admitted it. “Mm.”

“You knew I’d come?”

Jiang Yue admitted again. “Mm.”

Le Tian started crying. Tears kept falling. Just as Jiang Yue said, what he feared wasn’t Jiang Yue—it was himself. He liked Jiang Yue too much, couldn’t escape his grasp. Even knowing it was a trap, he still walked right into it. Even a worthless necklace had been enough to lure him here.

Jiang Yue heard him crying and paused. He frowned. “Still hurts?”

Le Tian sobbed harder. “It hurts.”

Jiang Yue stroked his soft black hair. “You’ll get used to it.” The possessive tone in his voice shattered Le Tian once again.

Le Tian cried until he couldn’t breathe. Jiang Yue didn’t understand. He leaned down. “What’s wrong?”

He bit his lip and hiccupped through his sobs. “It hurts… it really hurts.”

Since he kept saying he was in pain, Jiang Yue carried him to the bed. “Rest for a while. I have to go out for a bit.”

He stood beside the bed, tall and striking, having changed into a black shirt. His presence was overwhelmingly seductive. He reached out, touching Le Tian’s forehead. “You feel a little feverish. Get some sleep.”

Le Tian turned his face away, hiding under the blanket, unwilling to look at him. When he heard the door close, he finally couldn’t hold back—he giggled under the covers.

“This kind of eighteenth birthday… I could have a hundred of them. Heeheehee.”

System: …Please, have mercy on me.